Breaking News: Phuket land verification center to end national park encroachment

PHUKET: A land legality verification center will be established on Thursday to help investors be assured that the property they are purchasing is not encroaching on national park land or Phuket’s famed beaches.

“We will set up a center where prospective investors can establish that the land documents, as well as the land they are looking to acquire, are legal, and will not be taken back by the government due to it having been stolen from the people,” said Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) Chief Samak Donnapee.

“There will be no fees for this service.”

The announcement of the center comes as about 100 pairs of boots from officers of the Department of Special Investigation, National Anti-Corruption Commission – Phuket office, Anti-Money Laundering Office and the DNP begin a three-day raid on alleged land encroachment in Sirinath National Park.

The team will be out in the field this afternoon, investigating plots believed to be encroaching on public property.

Tomorrow, they will pull down beach shops illegally encroaching on public land at Nai Thon and Sai Kaew Beach, said Mr Samak.

— Saran Mitrarat